forfeiter

for·feit

 (fôr′fĭt)

tr.v. for·feit·ed, for·feit·ing, for·feits

1. To lose or give up (something) on account of an offense, error, or failure to fulfill an agreement: The other team did not show up in time and so forfeited the game.

2. To subject to seizure as a forfeit.

n.

1. Something that is lost or given up on account of an offense, error, or failure to fulfill an agreement.

2. The act of forfeiting: The team lost the game by forfeit.

3.

a. In parlor games, an item placed in escrow and redeemed by paying a fine or performing an appointed task.

b. forfeits A game in which forfeits are demanded.

adj.

Lost or subject to loss through forfeiture.

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[Middle English forfet, crime, penalty, from Old French forfait, past participle of forfaire, to commit a crime, act outside the law : fors-, beyond; see foreclose + faire, to do; see feasible.]

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for′feit·a·ble adj.

for′feit·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.